Monday, October 01, 2007

Here Comes The Influx

Beginning October 1, all workplaces, including bars and restaurants throughout the state, will be smoke-free--so the air will be cleaner and healthier than ever before.Get out and enjoy some Fresh Air at your favorite establishment. - Fresh Air Minnesota

Uh, yeah - that last sentence about "go out and enjoy some Fresh Air at your favorite establishment," - that's not going to happen. But the Militant Non-Smokers are wetting their undies with glee, for their Social Engineering Experiment has come to fruition. Don't poop your pants too, folks, we don't need to smell that toxic wasteland.

The Militant Non-Smoking Crowd is cheap. They're also notoriously bad-tippers. They don't party, have fun or go out on the town much. They're too busy hiding behind closed doors, deathly afraid a molecule of so-called "harmful" second-hand smoke might make its way into their precious, pink and unblemished little lungs.

But I digress...

Get ready...because...

...Here they come, the incursion is at hand. Watch out, they may trample right over you. The mass exodus of non-smokers, heretofore prisoners in their own homes, will be occupying every chair and table, every booth and every bar stool in every restaurant, cafe, nightclub, bar and neighborhood tavern. There won't be any room for the rest of us. Not so much...

October 1 ushers in the No-Smoking Anywhere Indoors Act across the state of Minnesota. The so-called "Freedom to Breathe" Act is now in effect. I didn't know cigarette or cigar smoke was responsible for forcing people to hold their breath for extended amounts of time. Well, we can't have that. Freedom to Breath...? No one denied you your freedom to breath except yourselves.

The delicate individuals who were unable to go out for lunch or dinner, or enjoy a beer, who were forced - forced, mind you! - to remain secluded recluses in their own homes, hiding behind the curtains afraid of even the slightest whiff of second-hand smoke, are now set free and permitted to invade the bars and restaurants en masse. Oh, watch out - you'll never get a table or a booth now.

Will there even be a table, booth or bar stool available for "the regulars" as non-smokers flock, overrun and colonize the nightclubs and restaurants?

Everyone knows the non-smoking crowd are big spenders, using their discretionary income by dining out, hitting the nightclubs and bars, spending their money like there's no tomorrow. Everyone knows that people gather at bars, taverns and nightclubs for the healthy atmosphere they provide. Non-Smokers are big spenders...biiiiiiiiiiiiiig spenders.

Or, will the bars, neighborhood taverns and restaurants suffer an irreversible downshift in business that eventually leads to them going out of business because of a lack of customers? Gee, it's so hard to predict what will happen.

Are you folks in rural Minnesota happy about this No-Smoking law? You're the ones who will be most affected by it. No longer will you be able to smoke a cigarette or a cigar with your beer while playing a game of darts or pool. Oh well, you know...your Democrat Representative knows what's best for you, don't they? Be sure to thank them the next time they're campaigning for their re-election. They are the ones who catered to the Anti-Smoking Nazis.

Banning outdoor and patio smoking will be the next target of the no-smoking Little Eichmanns. The Little Eichmanns will be lobbying the Minnesota legislature in the next session to ban all outdoor and patio smoking. Mark down this prediction, it will become a reality.

Get ready to start a brand new tally of how many neighborhood taverns, bars, nightclubs and restaurants will close their door due to a lack of business. But hey, it's okay for the subversive Little Eichmanns. Their goal is not fairness nor is it the Freedom To Breath. It's all about social engineering and sticking their grubby, dirty little fingers in the Free Market pie.

Plenty of no-smoking bars and clubs were tried in the Free Market and they wound up closing due to a lack of business. The answer, according the the No-Smoking Nazis, is to make No-Smoking mandatory and infringe on the rights of the property owners of these establishments. The result is that more hospitality and entertainment businesses - bars, nightclubs, taverns and especially the Mom and Pop-type places - will close due to a lack of customers. Fact it, Non-smokers don't party, they don't spend money; they're too busy being Little Eichmanns.

I'll bet a lot of these same non-smoking militants are the same people who leave a lengthy contrail of sickeningly sweet perfume, cologne or scented powder behind them as they move through the general public. Those of us who find these odors obnoxious and migraine-inducing are, I guess, just supposed to tolerate it.

My disclaimer: I'm a smoker - BUT - I'd feel the same way if I were a non-smoker.

Here's the deal: no one was prevented from opening smoke-free nightclubs or restaurants. Some brave owners gave it a run, opening smoke free restaurants and bars. They had no business at all and soon closed their doors.

Instead of letting the Free Market decide this, the Nico Nazis (I like that term) wanted to do what all Liberals do..."LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD." And they did this by infringing on the property rights of the owners of these establishments. This is okay, tho, cuz as bar, cafe, mom n pop tavern close, they will know exactly who caused their demise. There will be no confusion about who and what led to the lack of business.